Support Cannabis
Scheduling Reform
Support Cannabis
Scheduling Reform
Why Scheduling Reform?
Why Scheduling Reform?
Why Scheduling Reform?
Cannabis is classified as a schedule I controlled substance under federal law, alongside heroin and above methamphetamine, opium and fentanyl. This means that cannabis is wrongly considered to have no accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse and no accepted safety standards even under medical supervision.
Cannabis is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, alongside heroin and above methamphetamine, opium and fentanyl. This means that cannabis is wrongly considered to have no accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse and no accepted safety standards even under medical supervision. As a result, cannabis continues to be harshly criminalized, and state-licensed cannabis businesses operate under extreme regulatory burdens.
The reality is that cannabis has widely accepted medical uses and a low potential for abuse. More than three-quarters of US states have legalized medical cannabis, a majority of doctors recognize a variety of medical uses for cannabis, and more than 50 million Americans use cannabis each year. According to the DEA’s own data, there has not been a single recorded cannabis overdose death.
As a result, cannabis continues to be harshly criminalized, and state-licensed cannabis businesses operate under extreme regulatory burdens.
The reality is that cannabis has widely accepted medical uses and a low potential for abuse. More than three-quarters of US states have legalized medical cannabis, a majority of doctors recognize a variety of medical uses for cannabis, and more than 50 million Americans use medical cannabis each year. According to the DEA’s own data, there has not been a single recorded cannabis overdose death.
Cannabis is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, alongside heroin and above methamphetamine, opium and fentanyl. This means that cannabis is wrongly considered to have no accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse and no accepted safety standards even under medical supervision. As a result, cannabis continues to be harshly criminalized, and state-licensed cannabis businesses operate under extreme regulatory burdens.
The reality is that cannabis has widely accepted medical uses and a low potential for abuse. More than three-quarters of US states have legalized medical cannabis, a majority of doctors recognize a variety of medical uses for cannabis, and more than 50 million Americans use cannabis each year. According to the DEA’s own data, there has not been a single recorded cannabis overdose death.
President Biden disagrees with this classification and took a historic step last October when he directed his Administration to review the status of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act. The directive kicked off an administrative process involving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
As the Biden Administration actively reviews the status of cannabis, the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform (CCSR) is engaging with stakeholders in the Executive Branch to provide critical information and analysis concerning the urgent need for scheduling reform.
President Biden disagrees with this classification and took a historic step last October when he directed his Administration to review the status of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act. The directive kicked off an administrative process involving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
As the Biden Administration actively reviews the status of cannabis, the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform (CCSR) is engaging with stakeholders in the Executive Branch to provide critical information and analysis concerning the urgent need for scheduling reform.
Why Now?
Why Now?
Why Now?
The Benefits of Scheduling Reform
The Benefits of Scheduling Reform
The Benefits of Scheduling Reform
The process initiated by the Biden Administration should result in the rescheduling or descheduling of cannabis. Descheduling would demonstrate cannabis’ low potential for abuse and represent a dramatic step toward achieving President
Biden’s criminal justice and racial equity goals. Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III, IV or V would mark historic progress toward ending federal prohibition and present a wide range of advantages over the unacceptable status quo, including:
Reducing the scope of potential criminal liability for cannabis-related activity.
Encouraging prosecutors and sentencing judges to view cannabis as a lower priority when making charging and sentencing decisions.
Providing federal tax relief from tax penalties associated with the enforcement of Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, which are particularly burdensome for social equity and small operators.
Read the Report
Read the Report
In June 2023, CCSR released a comprehensive report on the classification of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act and the urgent need for reform. The report details the advantages of descheduling cannabis or rescheduling it at Schedule III or lower.